Jim Chalmers, the new Australian treasurer, said the nation cannot achieve a return to 1.5 percent productivity growth under current policies.
The treasurer said he wanted to have an upfront national conversation on the challenge of increasing productivity, which enables wage growth.
“But the starting point needs to be a more realistic assessment of where we’ve been and where we’re headed,” he told The Australian.
Chalmers blamed the previous government for “over compromising” on its claims for achieving a productivity boost in the long term.
The importance of productivity was highlighted in the Treasury’s 2021 Intergenerational Report, which projects an outlook for the economy over 40 years by examining the sustainability of policies and how other trends could affect the budget….